First Thai Bankruptcy Court
Opens Amid Lofty Expectations

BANGKOK, Thailand -- The country's first bankruptcy court opened for business Friday, an important step in the government's struggle to recover from the two-year-old economic crisis.

Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, presiding over the Central Bankruptcy Court's opening ceremony, expressed his hope that the court will help Thailand earn high marks in the international community for the improvement of its legal infrastructure, which was part of the intensive economic reforms the government pledged to enact in exchange for a $17.2...